FAQs
Congress 2014
- What is the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences?
- Where will Congress 2014 be held?
- What is the Congress Centre and where is it?
- Which associations are holding their annual conference at Congress 2014?
- How do I submit a proposal for call-for-papers for Congress?
- What is the Congress theme?
- Where is Congress 2015 being held? Or Congress 2016?
- Where can I find information and videos from past Congresses?
Events and programs
- Where can I find out what is happening at Congress?
- My scholarly association is holding a conference at Congress. How do I find my association’s program?
- How do I use the online calendar?
- What events can I attend?
- In the online calendar, what does “Open to” refer to?
- Which events are open to the general public?
- In the online calendar, what does “series” refer to?
- I have some free time in between sessions. Is there anything I can do to fill my day?
Plan your trip
- How do I get to Brock University?
- What accommodations are available in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls?
- I require accessible transportation and accommodation. What services are available?
Fees
- What are the registration fees?
- What is the difference between the general Congress fees and the association conference fees?
- I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay the Congress fees?
- I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay the Association conference fees?
- I have already paid my association membership fee. Do I still have to pay the association’s conference fee?
Registration
- When does registration open?
- When is the early-bird registration deadline?
- Is there a deadline to register?
- Where do I get my receipt and my access badge?
- How do I register online?
- What is my username and password?
- I started registering for Congress 2014 but did not submit my form. How do I get back to the form to complete it?
- How do I verify my registration, make changes or add another association conference fee?
- How do I cancel my registration and obtain a refund?
- I am having trouble registering online, what can I do?
- Can I register onsite?
- Can I register by mail and by fax?
- Can I register by telephone?
- What are the payment options?
- Do I have to be a member of an association to attend the association’s conference at Congress?
- How do I register as an international attendee?
- Can the Federation provide a letter to international attendees to participate at Congress?
- What is the cancellation policy?
Congress 2014
Q. What is the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences?
A. The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences is the convergence of over 70 scholarly associations to each hold their annual conference under one umbrella. Organized by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and hosted by a Canadian university, Congress is a place to share research and promote interdisciplinary perspectives. One of Canada’s largest academic gatherings, it also features the country’s biggest academic trade show. The Federation, the host university, scholarly associations and partners develop more than a week of presentations, workshops, panels, public lectures, cultural events and receptions. The result? Luminaries, researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and students from across Canada and abroad meet, share ideas and engage in discussions that have direct importance for Canada and the lives of Canadians.
Q. Where will Congress 2014 be held?
A. Congress 2014 is being hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Q. What is the Congress Centre and where is it?
A. The Congress Centre is the hub of it all on campus. Here you will find the Congress Expo, the Congress Registration Desk, Information Services, the Expo Event Space, the Expo Café, Career Corner sessions, President’s Receptions, the Media Room and more! For 2014 at Brock University, the Congress Centre will be located in the Walker Complex, marked as Building 22 on the campus map.
Q. Which associations are holding their annual conference at Congress 2014?
A. The associations listed here are participating in Congress 2014.
Q. How do I submit a proposal for call-for-papers for Congress?
A. The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is not responsible for calls for papers. To present at Congress, you must approach your academic association and inquire about their calls for papers. A full list of associations participating in Congress is available here.
Q. What is the Congress theme?
A. The theme for Congress 2014 is “Borders without Boundaries”. For a longer description, please click here.
Q. Where is Congress 2015 being held? Or Congress 2016?
A. Congress 2015 will be held at the University of Ottawa and Congress 2016 will be held at the University of Calgary. Information about future Congresses is available here.
Q. Where can I find information and videos from past Congresses?
A. Please visit the Federation’s website for information about previous Congresses and links to videos, blog posts and more.
Events and programs
Q. Where can I find out what is happening at Congress?
A. See the Programs section of the website for full details on what is happening at Congress and visit the association page to look up conference information. You can use the online calendar to find a specific event, or take a look at pages such as Big Thinking and Career Corner for descriptions of these program series.
Q. My scholarly association is holding a conference at Congress. How do I find my association’s program?
A. To find your association’s program, first find your association on this page (sorted alphabetically) and click on the link to find details about the association’s conference. The programs will be posted here as they become available.
Q. How do I use the online calendar?
A. The online calendar, type in a keyword such as a speaker’s name or an association’s acronym to get started using the Simple Search, or click on Advanced Search to filter by date, series, or host association to narrow your search results. When you have entered all of your search criteria, click “Submit” to see the results. You can choose how the search results are displayed by clicking on a column header in the search results table to sort by that field. Click it a second time to switch between ascending and descending.
- Note: The conference of an association is treated as a single event in the calendar, even if the conference spans several days and has many sessions. To view the full details of the association conference, click on the link for your association here.
Q. What events can I attend?
A. Anyone who has registered for Congress and has paid the Congress fee may attend any event marked as being open to “All registered Congress attendees” in the online calendar. Additionally, anyone who has also registered for an association conference and has paid the relevant Association conference fee may attend any session hosted by that association. Everyone, regardless of registration level, may attend events marked in the online calendar as being open to the “General public”.
Q. In the online calendar, what does “Open to” refer to?
A. In the online calendar, the “Open To” field refers to the access level for the event and which registered attendees may participate or attend. When you register for Congress, you have the option of registering with specific associations. The access level for some events is marked as “Registered attendees of the association” which means that the session is only open to attendees that have registered with the host association of the event. In contrast, if the access level is marked as “All registered Congress attendees”, then anyone who has registered for Congress may attend regardless of whether s/he has registered with the host association. If the access level is marked as “General public” then anyone may attend the session, including those who have not registered for Congress.
Q. Which events are open to the general public?
A. The Big Thinking series is made available to the general public at no cost, through the generous support of our sponsors. To view a list of all other events open to the public, such as Career Corner and Congress Expo, go to the online calendar of events and filter by the "Open To" field in the Advanced search. No registration is necessary for these events.
Q. In the online calendar, what does “series” refer to?
A. In the online calendar, “series” refers to the type of event, such as Big Thinking, Career Corner, or an association conference.
Q. I have some free time in between sessions. Is there anything I can do to fill my day?
A. There are many events happening all the time at Congress! Check out the online calendar of events and filter by date in the Advanced Search to see a list of events that are happening that day, including both academic and cultural events.
Plan your trip
Q. How do I get to Brock University?
A. See the travel page for a list of transportation options, and the maps page for more detailed information about the area. There is also a Google Map for Congress 2014 that you can use to help you navigate.
Q. What accommodations are available in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls?
A. A large number of residence and hotel rooms are available in the area at special Congress rates. You have the option of staying close to campus in St. Catharines or you can reserve a room in spectacular Niagara Falls overlooking one of Canada’s natural wonders. Click here for the full list.
Q. I require accessible transportation and accommodation. What services are available?
A. Together the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences and Brock University are committed to improving the accessibility of Congress for participants with disabilities. The full details about accessibility at Congress are posted here.
Fees
Q. What are the registration fees?
A. The registration fees are available here. The Congress fees and association conference fees vary depending on the category (regular, retired, student, unwaged). There is also a discounted early-bird rate if you register before March 31st.
Q. What is the difference between the general Congress fees and the association conference fees?
A. Review the descriptions of the Congress fees and the association conference fees.
Q. I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay the Congress fees?
A. Yes. The payment of Congress fees is mandatory for all attendees including speakers, presenters, panelists and those chairing or attending a session.
Q. I am presenting at Congress, do I still need to pay the association conference fees?
A. Yes. The payment of association conference fees is mandatory for all attendees including speakers, presenters, panelists and those chairing or attending a session.
Q. I have already paid my association membership fee. Do I still have to pay the association’s conference fee?
A. All attendees are required to pay the association’s conference fee to attend or participate at Congress. The association conference fee is not your membership fee. The association conference fees are collected by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences on behalf of the associations at Congress. Membership fees are paid directly to your association and are not usually collected at Congress. For information about membership, contact your association directly.
Registration
Q. When does registration open?
A. Registration opens in mid-January.
Q. When is the early-bird registration deadline?
A. The early bird deadline is March 31st. The fees increase after this date.
Q. Is there a deadline to register?
A. There is no deadline to register online; you can register from mid-January until Congress ends. However, if you register by mail or fax, the deadline to submit your form is May 9, 2014.
Q. Where do I get my receipt and my access badge?
A. If you register online, by mail or by fax then you will receive a confirmation email as soon as your registration is processed. This email is not your official receipt. Print the confirmation email and bring it with you to the onsite Congress Registration Desk in the Congress Centre, located in the Walker Complex (Building 22 on the campus map), where you can pick up your receipt along with your official access badge and registration package.
Q. How do I register online?
A. Visit the Congress registration portal and follow the instructions. If you registered for Congress in the past six years (2008 to 2013), you can return to your account to register for Congress 2014. If you have not been to Congress before, you will be prompted to create a new account.
Q. What is my username and password?
A. If you registered for Congress in the past six years (2008 to 2013) then you already have an account. Go to the Congress registration portal and select “I want to register for Congress 2014 and I have been to Congress in the past six years (2008-2013)”. Then click on “Forgot your log-in information?” to have your username and password emailed to you.
Q. I started registering for Congress 2014 but did not submit my form. How do I get back to the form to complete it?
A. Return to the Congress registration portal and click on “I want to modify my Congress 2014 registration”. Enter your username and password to access your account, and then select “Register for Congress”.
Q. How do I verify my registration, make changes or add another association conference fee?
A. Return to the Congress registration portal and click on “I want to modify my Congress 2014 registration”. Enter your username and password to access your account, and then make the necessary changes or additions.
Q. How do I cancel my registration and obtain a refund?
A. Return to the Congress registration portal and click on “I want to modify my Congress 2014 registration”. Enter your username and password to access your account, and then click on “Refund request”. The deadline to request a refund is April 15, 2014, subject to a $20 service fee.
Q. I am having trouble registering online, what can I do?
A. It could be a number of issues. Please check the following:
- Is your registration form complete? Please ensure that all required fields, marked with an asterisk (*), are filled in.
- Is your payment information accurate?
- Is JavaScript enabled on your web browser, and is your browser up-to-date? You may need to update your software or try again from a different computer.
Q. Can I register onsite?
A. Yes, you may register onsite in the Congress Centre located in the Walker Complex, however we recommend that you register online first to reduce wait times at the Congress Registration Desk. (Even those who have registered online must come to the Registration desk onsite to pick up their receipt, official access badge, and registration package.) Please note that only credit cards and Interac will be accepted onsite. The hours are posted here.
Q. Can I register by mail and by fax?
A. Yes, you may register by mail or by fax. Download the association conference fee schedule (pdf) and the registration form (pdf). Mail your form and payment to Congress 2014, 300 – 275 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2L6, or fax your form to 613-238-6114. All mail and fax forms must be received by May 9, 2014.
Q. Can I register by telephone?
A. No, we do not accept registrations over the phone.
Q. What are the payment options?
A. The payment options are listed here.
Q. Do I have to be a member of an association to attend the association’s conference at Congress?
A. No, you do not need to be a member of an association to attend a conference at Congress, however the association conference fees are generally higher for non-members. If you wish to become a member, you should contact your association prior to registering.
Q. How do I register as an international attendee?
A. You can register online, however, before you register, international attendees should confirm whether a visa is required for entry to Canada. More information is available here.
Q. Can the Federation provide a letter to international attendees to participate at Congress?
A. No, the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, as the organizer of Congress, is unable to send letters of confirmation of any kind other than the registration confirmation automatically generated and sent, by email only, once your payment has been processed. More information is available here.
Q. What is the cancellation policy?
A. Cancellations are accepted until April 15, 2014, subject to a $20 service fee. Unfortunately, no refunds are possible after this date.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected].
